Macon (CA 132) - Naval Cruise Book

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Nothing is more im[)oit:int to a sailor tliaii his reconimendaiion lor advaiiceniem in rating. His ability antl liis eligibility often depend al- most solely on his training. The Training Otlicer and his stall are lesponsiijle lor relating lormal training lectures, lilms and correspondence comses to on-the-job pr.ictical training. ' oli hear a lot abotit Class A or C Schools and whether a (jiiota lor a certain school will come in. The Training Ollice handles all requests for both oUicer antl enlisted schools. These range iiom the one day I ' hone Talker school in Newport, Rhode Islanil, to the two month Spe- cial Weapons School in .Vlbequerqiie, New Mexico. The X ' isitor who boards the ship in a foreign port often treasmes his ollicial visitors card, and his pictine of the ship. Both of these treasures are the products of joint efforts between the Captaiir ' s Office, Print Shop and Photo Lab. Tire printing of church bidletins, the monthly MA- CON WAY and those beautiful pamphlets on ports-of-call, plus the many jobs required by the ship such as copies of forms and letters, are all products of the Print Shop. . dd to this depart- mental instructions and notices, the daily Radio Press, the Plan of the Day, and you soon under- stand why the somid of the press is often heard mitil the wee hours of the morning. The Photo Lab is always on call, ' e leali ed dining this cruise just how many e ents hap|)en on short notice, and the photographer nuist be there. Who woidd have expected those Emer- gency Flight Quarters as the l .WnOLPH ' s helo •as hovering just abo e oiu ' fantail attempt- ing to land. ' h.it a moment for a dutv pho- tographer to be on hand when the liclo irashcd into the water just a short distance oil the port C]uarter and out scinried the pilot antl crewntan in record time. Or who would ha e ex|)ecied, near taps on that January night, to hear the word passed, Standby to man Rescue and Assistance Stations! . The M. CON was coming to the aid of the binning ftalian merchant shi]) r. RI. . M. TA, antl the lUny ]jhotographer was there to recapttne for the future the intense excite- ment of that event. The photographer was there to capture for the futme the impressive (juarter- dcck honors in ea h port we isitcd, the recep- tions in the Wardroom, the oiph.in pat lies, the isiiois who scanned the ship in e m purl. .Vll these memorable events weie rccoi ded i)v the alwavs-on-the-spot ship ' s photographers. Potember. B. J- BM2 S Boiton 27, Mas

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o ii Kohout. J M SN Cleveland 9. Ohio X DIVISION The word v.is just pussed, All mast reports and mast report witnesses assentble in the pas- sageway outside the Executive Officer ' s cabin. The Legal Officer and his yeomen have just finished their in estigation of the mast reports by interviewing the men invohed in the different reported incidents. Service Record entries have been made and the disciplinary record of each man has been outlined for the Executive Of- ficer ' s information. If the E.xecutive Officer a- wards C:a]nain ' s Mast this means additional work, because possibly after Captain ' s Mast a Summary or Special Court-Martial will have to be prepared. The Legal Officer is responsible for the routine disciplinary problems of all ACON personnel and such other legal matters as wills and letters of indebtedness. For a ship as large as ] L CON the legal problems are many and varied and the Legal Officer and his staff are always on call to assist the command in af- fairs concerning discipline or legal advice. They are also responsible for any foreign claims made against the ship by people in the ports visited by MACON. BM2 Philadelphia. ] .■

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The Naval . tlachc in Barcelona was making plans for a press con- ference and was having a ship ' s history translated into Spanish. Why all the activity? The MACON was coming into Barcelona and the Public Information Officer had wiittcn the Naval Attache well in advance so that oin- visit woidd be vcll publicized. Much work had gone into the Press Kits with their nevvly revised ship ' s history, Admiral ' s and Captain ' s biographies. The budding, official ship ' s reporters were on the spot when we got into port, eager to find material lor future stories and hometown releases. The ship ' s thorough coverage in foreign newspapers is a tribute to their industry. The daily Radio Press keeps you informed of the latest national, international and sports news. This is one of those important links with the home front which you were eager to have each day. And then the ship ' s and crew ' s activities were pidjlished in the MACON WAY. You read that your friend in the Maiine Detachment had been pro- moted, the news from ilie . ' nli l)i ision boys, and the feature articles cover- ing major e ents in ihe life of the ship. The thorough coverage im- pressed you and lelt with ()u ihc opinion that the Public Information Offi.ce men must be jnitting in some long hoins. Siewjrt, H S PHG3 Niagara Falls, N, Y. X DIVISION Twin Lalie. Mid. This man was over two hours and .... What is the most important thing to a Navy man on a long cruise? It ' s mail, of course, and the Post Office was always bustling with activity. For them it was a mailer of long night hours after the final close out of mail at midnight on the night before we got underway, or it was a rough boat ride in Cannes and a twenty mile ride to the Nice Airport, only to wait anywhere from one to eight hours for that R5D from Naples to arrive. And sometimes you waited only to hear that the flight had been cancelled. There were those Christmas parcel post packages which literally moved the Post Office into the Crew ' s Lounge so that the daily routine of selling stamps, money orders and processing out-going mail coidd be continued. Few of us knew of those behind-the-scenes hours of labor involved in getting the mail to the Crew, but the men in the Post Office, despite the work involved, shared in the crew ' s happiness when they gave out the mail and heard those shouts of, Oh Boy! I got letters! And we must noi forget the men who assist the Executive Officer in maintaining order and discipline aboard. The master-at-arms were always on hand to assist the OOD when visitors came aboard in the many foreign ports or tcj lend a hand on an especially big liberty night. This then is your , dministrative Department.